WAR
In class the other day, we discussed how the news is getting ot be too much for some people to handle. I find that with all the new coverage, on TV and in the newspaper, as well as in the discussions at school, i get an overdose of Iraq news. I think it is very informed to stay informed so i usually try to have a conversation with my mom or read the front page about the war every day, with out getting overloaded. I think it is very important to keep faith involved in the war and not get to bogged down with the politics part of it. This is why I pray to God about the war. I ask him to end it quickly and not to harm innocent people. I, of course, ask him to keep an eye out for all of the soldiers, both Allies and Iraqis. I admire all of the students that have taken action in some way to help out, and I would love to do the same. I have not yet figured out what I am going to do. I e-mail troops and I am going to bake for the bake sale and help in any other way that I can, but I have not yet thought of a way for me to specifically help. I asked my mom if we could send some care packages or phone cards or something and she said "sure," but I am just not sure what action I would like to pursue. I better figure that out.

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Psalm 23
Psalm 23 is one of the most famous and widely-used psalms. It is often used at weddings and baptisms and is read at mass in general. I think Psalm 23 is one of the most beautiful chapters that I have read in the Bible. It demonstrates God's strength with lines such as "Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm for You are at my side." These lines give me trust in God. This Psalm is very inspirational and poetic. Each an every live is beautiful. I enjoy reading Psalm 23 because it is flowing and easy to understand. The reader must not decipher each line, for the meaning is straightforward. The tone of this psalm is peaceful, not spiteful or mean, like others. The Psalm has a positive message. It is not a condemnation or cry for help. This beautifully poetic Psalm gives me assurance in God's strength and help.

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ADVENT
Today I was late for class because I had just arrived at school. I did not get to hear the entire discussion about advent. Actually, to tell you the truth, the part that I heard did not seem to relate to my conception of advent at all. This afternoon, I asked a classmate what the relevance of the part of the discussion I hear was. She told me that the class was discuss the two parts of advent. There is an advent focusing on the past and one focusing on the future. The church mainly focuses on the advent involving birth and not death. We choose not to focus on the end of the world. I had no idea that the end of the world even had anything to do with advent. That was so surprising. I still need some clarification on what was taught because I am not totally sure that I completely understand the concept, but
I am interested to find out.

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My View on the Death Penalty
Honestly, I do not think about things such as the death penalty often. I do not think this is a good thing. I wish I had more of an opinion than I do. I am pretty easy to persuade either way. Truly I feel that all killing is wrong. So, deep down I think I am against the death penalty. But then again, when I hear about terrible crimes on tv I cannot help but think that the criminals deserve to die. I wish I never had those thoughts. I guess what I am trying to express is that I want to be against the death penalty, therefore you could say I am against the death penalty. I do not think that humans have the right to kill other humans, in any way. My whole paragraph sounds like mumble jumble but there are my thoughts on the subject. Deep inside, I think the death penalty is wrong but I wish I felt more strongly about the topic.

Current Mood: extremely tired and bad

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Class Paticipation
Religion class is definitely the class that I think about most often outside the classroom. I never find myself leaving English and thinking about grammar later in the day, but I often think of our discussions from that day in Religion class. I think we have been learning about some really serious information and I enjoy reflecting on it. Multiple times, the discussion from religion class is the same discussion my friends and I have at lunch. We all carry the information out of the classroom. Besides discussing the topics out of school, I make a an effort to participate in the discussions in class, either by listening to what others say or by adding something of my own knowledge to the discussion. I find that I play a larger role in some classes than others. I think this is because I feel more comfortable discussing some topics rather than others. This quarter, especially lately, I have truly made an effort to study hard, making sure I have done whatever possible to help my grade. Many times, I have done the activities on quia multiple times. This shows that I care about religion class and I am taking it seriously. I am not going to put down what I think my grade should be because I am not the teacher and I don't know what other students are doing, but to me, it seems like my grade should reflect my effort.

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My Feelings on Eden
I love the poem. Although, surprisingly, it did not evoke my normal picture of Eden. I guess I have never thought of Eden as the absence of sin, what it is. It probably goes to show the materialistic world we live in has an impact on me because I used to think of Eden as a beautiful garden full of things that I like. My picture was almost like that of heaven, but in a garden not in the clouds as I picture heaven. The line that evokes a picture of Eden how I had pictured it is "And all will share equally in Earth's abundance. "One section of the poem that changed my picture of Eden, in a good way is "All then both men and women will be gentle, And then both women and men will be strong, And then no person will be subject to another's will." I had never thought of Eden as a relationship between people.
The poem addresses alienation between sexes, against the old and the sick, against children, and against all creatures of the world, humans and animals.
I have found one line in the poem that I do not like. The line "And then all will be rich and free and varied" seems wrong to me. I do not think that rich should be included in that. I definitely do not think that money would be a problem in Eden. Actually, in rereading the poem, I considered the fact that this line could mean rich, not in monetary value, but in life. I know that the question does not address favorite line of the poem but since I have one I'll tell you that I enjoy "And then everywhere will be called Eden once again." I think this line means the most to me because I never realized that before Adam and Eve had to leave Eden, there probably was not anything besides Eden. The whole world was probably Eden. There would have been no reason for there to have been another area.
If i were to add a line to this poem it would be something about the beauty of Eden. I picture it as a lush garden and I think if this had been mentioned than I would have been able to picture Eden better when reading the poem.
I think this poem is truly unrealistic. I am sorry that I have to say this. I would love to believe that this could happen, but it is hard. With all the evil in our world it is so difficult to believe that our world good be all good again. I could be wrong. I know I am being very cynical in saying this, and I regret that I think this way. I wish I was innocent, lacking knowledge, but I am not. I know about bad in the world, therefore I am a doubting disbelieving person, a cynic. I think we need more belief in our world. There are probably too many people like me. I feel hypocritical saying that but I believe it.

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Adam and Eve's Compassion
While watching the video I was struck by the same thing that you, Sr. O'brien, said after it. Actually, I could not hear what the Rabbi said exactly. I thought he said either that Adam and Eve showed compassion by having Cain and Abel or that Adam and Eve were selfish to have Cain and Abel outside of the garden. Both seem to be good points to me. You said that your cousin was not going to have kids because she didn't want to raise them in this world, which she believes is almost ending. You also said that it was compassionate of Adam and Eve to start a family even though they had been kicked out of the garden. I think this was an act of true unselfishness. Adam and Eve decided to raise a family and keep the world going even though it would not be perfect, as planned. I am thankful for them doing this because we would not be here if it weren't for them continuing their lives. This also shows how much humans are capable of enduring. Even after they were thrown from Eden, Adam and Eve raised a family. I never had thought about this concept before and I think that the Rabbi was smart to think of it, because I never would have.

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Question My Faith?
Honestly, I had not questioned my faith until i watched the documentary on faith. It seems stupid but I never really thought to question it. I guess that is a good thing. Maybe that means my faith is strong. I am a little confused. I do not know whether September eleventh had an affect on me at all. I think it did, because I think about the day all the time, but then again I do not think I am a changed person. My faith seems to be the same. I seem to be the same. I do not think I'll ever know the affects that day last September had on my soul. I would be willing to bet it changed me for the better, in the long run. I must keep pondering these questions about my own faith.

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The World Disjointed
One question that this documentary attempted to answer involved religion. The question asked whether or not the world would be better off without religion. I have a very strong opinion about this, which is shocking even to me. It is not my opinion that is shocking it is the fact that I have a strong opinion. I'm actually not sure why I am shocked because it seems reasonable. I feel that the world needs religion. Our world would be totally disjointed with out it. It is probably the largest unifying factor, bringing people together. I understand that most of the world's troubles involve religion. I also feel that most of the unification of the world has something to do with religion. For example, the United States is a successful country in part because of the freedom of religion that is allowed. If the world could mend the bad caused by religion but leave the good, we would be on our way to greatness. Religion makes people happy and brings people together. Who would want to destroy that?
Secondly, even if we decided to destroy religion we probably could not. Some people are so strong in their beliefs that they would refuse this idea completely. I would respect their decision because i am a firm believer in the greatness of God and in the fact that he should be praised with religion.

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I Have Been Torn Down
Today has not been the greatest of days for me. I feel like have have been torn down and need to be rebuilt, like line 3 of Ecclesiastes 3.
To start the day off on the wrong foot, the power went off in my house last night, therefore resetting my alarm clock and causing me to get up about 10 minutes late, 5 minutes before I had to leave. That was no big deal because I am always late. I am used to it. My ride to school and first period went smoothly, actually I could say they went great. Second period was good too. I had a French test which is not always the greatest of things but I think I did well. I completed the test quickly and proceeded to the computer lab where I wrote e-mails to a few friends, always a fun activity, and checked my grade on the religion test, that i had taken last thursday. This is where the tearing down began. I thought I had done a satisfactory job on the test, especially after getting an A on the objective section. I guess I should start my "rebuilding process" in the essay section. But I'm not too worried because Ecclesiastes says that there is a time for rebuilding. After religion class, I had Elementary Functions which went fine. My test paper from thursday was returned to me. I got a B plus, so maybe this is part of the "rebuilding process." It must be because it improved my mood. After math, I went to lunch and ate an extremely large meal, while chatting with my friends. Everything was going perfectly when I looked at my hand and noticed that it said "take English quiz at lunch." oops! well hopefully Mr. Neill will not be too mad. Everyone makes mistakes. Sixth period was fine also because I received a 95 on a chemistry lab. Eighth period was a killer because it was sort of a repeat of religion. I thought I did well on my test but actually I got a C. This is more tearing down.
Actually, as I reread that last paragraph, two things jump out at me. One is that most of my tearing down revolves around grades. Secondly, I notice that the tearing down is pretty much balanced out with the rebuilding. so basically, if today seemed to tear me down, there must be a day of rebuilding. I love this passage from Ecclesiastes because it gives me hope for tomorrow. Maybe I will totally rebuild myself tomorrow, if things go smoothly.

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